Lakers Overcome The Heat

The Miami Heat were doing fine against the Los Angeles Lakers until Alonzo Mourning tried to go after Shaquille O'Neal.

O'Neal blocked Mourning's shot three straight times early in the second half to spark a pivotal spurt by the Lakers, who rallied beat the Heat 100-89.

Los Angeles overcame a 15-point second-half deficit to snap Miami's franchise-record 13-game home winning streak.

O'Neal had eight points and a dazzling assist during a 22-2 run that put Los Angeles ahead to stay in the matchup of division leaders. But it was his shot-blocking that reversed the momentum.

"I had to pick up my defense," O'Neal said, "and I did."

Mourning hurt the Lakers early from 10 to 15 feet out and scored 19 points in the first half. Then he went at O'Neal and missed his first seven shots of the second half.

"I was trying to put everything on my shoulders and force the issue," Mourning said. "It wasn't good for us, and it established a snowball effect."

Otherwise, Mourning more than held his own in the matchup of All-Star centers, scoring 33 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. O'Neal finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds.

But Mourning disliked the postgame comparisons.

"This isn't a boxing match or a tennis match," he said. "It's not a one-on-one battle."

The Lakers, playing their fourth game in five nights, survived the slow start to win for the 22nd time in 23 games.

"This team is making me a believer," coach Phil Jackson said. "They're making me look good."

The Heat played shorthanded up front because of injuries to forwar P.J Brown (sprained ankle) and Otis Thorpe (foot). Miami compensated by shooting 56 percent for a 55-42 lead at halftime, and O'Neal had just 12 points in 17 minutes because of foul trouble.

"We were only down 13, and we didn't play well at all," O'Neal said. "We just had to wake up."

The Lakers did just that, and 5 1/2 minutes into the third period, the score was tied. O'Neal threw a one-handed alley-oop pass to Kobe Bryant for a dunk made it 59-all.

"We work on that in practice, and the big fella and I joke about it all the time," Bryant said. "Tonight was the perfect situation for it. It caught them off guard."

O'Neal then sank consecutive baskets to put Los Angeles ahead, and the Heat were unable to mount a comeback. They shot just 29 percent in the second half and finished 2-for-15 from 3-point range.

Miami was never closer than three points in the final minutes, and 3-pointers by Robert Horry and Glen Rice helped seal the victory. Rice finished with 28 points, and Bryant added 23 for the Lakers.

"You don't have to give them credit," Riley said. "You just have to say they're good. They rolled us in the third quarter."

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